


Show Your Hand

by irisbleufic



Series: Delicate, Dangerous, Obsessed [13]
Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Butlers, Canon Queer Character, Canon Queer Relationship, Crimes & Criminals, Dysfunctional Family, Friendship, M/M, POV Victor Zsasz, Weird Fluff, Zsasz Kind of Feels Like Everybody's Babysitter Right Now, Zsasz and Ivy Interrogate Somebody Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-16 04:57:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11246781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irisbleufic/pseuds/irisbleufic
Summary: “Who’s with the prisoner?” asked Oswald, straightening his jacket as he pushed away from the wall.  “I can hear voices in the garden.  The amount of giggling is not reassuring.”“The kitten, the plant witch, and the firebug wanted a chance to play with the mouse.  I let ’em.”[Bonus ficlet from Zsasz's POV;slightlymore plot-advancing than most ficlets have been.  Picks up whereWYFIR #28leaves off.]





	Show Your Hand

The resulting commotion was cacophonous, but Victor didn’t let it distract him from thinking ahead. They had a location, a precise target. If the intel was accurate, that would make finishing the job a cinch.

While Oswald took a moment to confer with Alfred Pennyworth and Lucius Fox, Victor re-bound the dazed, docile Talon’s hands. He tapped Ivy impatiently on the shoulder, eager to watch her work.

“Give him another whiff,” Victor instructed. “I wanna check something.”

“You got it,” Ivy said, waving her wrist beneath the Talon’s flared nostrils.

“Hi there, sport!” Victor said, grinning as he got right in the masked scumbag’s face. “Just a couple of follow-ups from yours truly. How many prisoners are down there?”

“Two,” said the Talon, thickly, all signs of resistance gone. “In cages.”

Victor turned to Ivy, raising his eyebrows. Color him fucking impressed.

“Are these cages in the same place, or are we gonna have to go fishing?”

“Same place,” replied the Talon. “Several in a row, guarded at all times.”

“But there are only two prisoners,” Victor said. “You’re sure about that?”

“This guy’s got way more information than Oswald thought,” Ivy remarked.

“There are only two prisoners,” the Talon insisted. “Caged side by side.”

Victor drew his gun, tapping the Talon’s cheek with it. “Know their names?”

“No,” said the Talon. “It is not my role to know or be concerned with that.”

“You’ve _seen_ the prisoners, though,” Victor prompted. “Am I right?”

“No, but one of my colleagues has,” he said. “Brought both in. The boy first.”

“Son of a bitch,” Victor breathed, tapping the Talon’s temple. “And the second?”

“Last night,” the Talon responded, eyes half-lidded. “Accompanied our commander.”

“Sounds about right,” Ivy muttered. “Guess he must mean that nasty Kathryn lady?”

“Yes,” the Talon agreed placidly. “We are bound to obey her in this and all things.”

Victor withdrew the gun, tapping it against his own chin. As much as he wanted to get the kill over with and his next mark in place, he might yet obtain further intel.

“How many of your colleagues guard Miles Cross?” Victor asked. “And the guys who guard the cages, are they like you, or are they just…I dunno, guys with keys and uniforms?”

“The guards who tend prisoners are not like me,” said the Talon. “At least a dozen otherwise.”

“A dozen fucking Talons,” said Ivy, swallowing hard. “We’re gonna have to plow through—”

“Is there anything else,” Victor cut in, choosing his words carefully, “that you think somebody launching a siege on Miles Cross for the purpose of rescuing prisoners would need to know?”

“The building hides in plain sight,” the Talon replied softly. “Your entry will be conspicuous.”

Selina Kyle, who’d apparently been listening in from where she hovered behind Ivy, chimed in.

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” she scoffed. “I can get us into just about anywhere.”

Victor made a sad face at the Talon, responding to his non-response with an exaggerated shrug.

“Looks like you’ve run out of luck,” he said. “Time for me to take you out back, how’s that?”

“Aw, come on,” said Selina, prodding the Talon’s elbow. “Can’t we have some fun with him first? Ask him a bunch of stupid shit?” she suggested, giving Ivy a mischievous look.

Victor considered the girl’s proposal. Often, he wasn’t above toying with victims himself.

“You,” Victor said, pointing to Bridgit. “Guard these two while they escort our guest out to the garden. I’ve gotta consult with boss, let him know what I got. Have fun, but make it quick.”

“I’ll torch him if it gets out of hand,” Bridgit promised, nodding to Ivy. “You know the way?”

“Yup,” Ivy said, taking hold of the Talon’s wrists behind his back, shoving him ahead of her.

“Don’t worry, Zsasz,” said Selina, lagging behind the other two, tapping her temple. “If he says anything else useful while we’re messing with him, I’ll let you know. I have really good memory.”

“Thanks,” said Victor, distractedly, casting about in urgent search of Oswald, who had vanished.

While Vee and Caroline sat speaking quietly at the far end of the dining table, Gabriel had taken over interrogating the GCPD flunky and his butler lover. Candy, Yoona, Leonara, and Teeth had fallen obediently back against the wall, watchful, with weapons at the ready.

Unexpectedly, Olga approached Victor with a tumbler of whiskey in hand. She offered it bluntly.

“Oswald went outside for a cigarette,” she said. “Perhaps you want to go have words with him?”

Victor took a grateful sip, handed it back to her, and nodded. “Deepest thanks, Ms. Agapova.”

He nodded to his crew on the way out, indicating to Yoona he’d only be a moment. With any luck, he wouldn’t need to send for reinforcements beyond the four already present. Doc, Jesús, and the puppy ought to enjoy the respite from their household’s usual clamor.

Oswald stood just outside the front door with his back braced against the wall of the house. He blew smoke at the overcast stars, his quick, pale eyes darting to question Victor’s intrusion.

“That was dramatic, chief,” Victor told him, politely declining the cigarette Oswald offered.

“I didn't ask your opinion,” Oswald sniffed, placing the pack back inside his jacket. “Updates?”

“There are two prisoners being held at Miles Cross,” said Victor, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Ed’s one of them, and I have reason to believe Bruce Wayne is the other.”

Oswald’s eyes widened, as if it hadn’t occurred to him that the Court might hold such a precious hostage in one of its standard keeps. “Have you informed Mr. Pennyworth of your suspicions?”

“Not yet,” said Victor, shrugging. “I figured I’d make my report and leave that to you.” He stared at the partially-obscured constellation that Oswald had been considering. “Pleiades.”

“Zeus transformed them into doves as they fled Orion,” replied Oswald. “And then stars.”

“We need to hash out the plan of attack,” said Victor, for once not inclined to whimsy. “Do we move out tonight, or do we try to get a decent night’s sleep and ambush them in daylight?”

“Ed has been where he is for almost exactly twenty-four hours,” murmured Oswald, pitching his unfinished Dunhill—his second or third, by the look of things—onto the gravel. “I _won’t_ see him stay there any longer than he must. We make our move tonight.”

“I’ve just gotta go out back and deal with the prisoner,” said Victor pointing around the side of the house. “I’ll meet you back inside? Everyone’s there, waiting for orders.”

“Who’s with the prisoner?” asked Oswald, straightening his jacket as he pushed away from the wall. “I can hear voices in the garden. The amount of giggling is not reassuring.”

“The kitten, the plant witch, and the firebug wanted a chance to play with the mouse. I let ’em.”

Oswald offered Victor a taut, razor-sharp smile, pushing past him to go back inside the house.

“You always do know what’s best for morale,” he retorted. “Add to your tally. Make it quick.”

“Sure thing, chief,” Victor sighed, making his way toward whatever damage the girls had done.

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, I make glancing reference to [**raven_aorla's delightful and multi-faceted depiction of the Zsasz household**](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10844019). Candy, Doc, Jesús, Leonara, Teeth, Yoona, and the puppy (Nefyn), all briefly mentioned in this piece, are hers.


End file.
